Budda Twinmaster Ten

5 For features -- this ain't no Mesa, and it doesn't want to be. Tweakheads need not apply. Although Mesas can be cool, in this case low features = excellent tone.

Mine is not the earliest model -- it's the second one with the front panel. Mine has 2 -10" speakers -- Emminence legends.

This will give you what you put into it -- and it likes some guitars better than others. The same amp with the same settings result in some amazing differences. For me, typically with the vol at 2:00, treble at 12:00, and bass at 2:00, different guitars sound kinda like this:

Hamer Studio w/ carved maple cap and humbuckers (this is a bright-sounding guitar): Slash (I hate Slash, but it sounds like him. If you want to sound like Slash, forget about the Marshall Jubilee. Just get this and save cash and some of whatever's left of your hearing.

Fender Telecaster: Raw courage and honest distorto-twang. Watch out for the feedback if you're running vintage or vintage-style pickups.

Gibson Les Paul Special w/p-100's: Tasty, smooth and emotive. Rich and grinding. Touch-sensitive and roaring.

Strat: SRV clones need not apply. Not enough clang on the high end. Too distorted in a Marshall sort of way to catch the SRV vibe (but, uh, that could also be my crappy playing talking. Better consider than when reading my opinions....)

This amp will not apologize for your playing, nor will it gloss over your mistakes. What you play is what you hear -- even in high gain mode. Unforgiving. Has made me a better player.

This is a midrange-heavy amp -- it actually has a lot of bottom end (you can hear it perfectly when mic'd for recording) but in this configuration (a 2 - 10") the mids seem to reach you before the bass. The bass is tight. This little guy really energizes in a big room. *Warning* For the love of mercy if you play this amp in a small room please wear earplugs. This amp wasn't made for small rooms. The 18 watts generated by those tiny el-84s give new meaning to the term "size doesn't matter." The twinmaster will roll over that loud drummer of yours in no time, and have your bass player running to the amp-o-mart for a few hunnerd more watts. This is only a bad thing if you're playing in small rooms!

Really -- don't be like Zack Wilde and Pete Townsend. Protect your ears so you may show your grandkids how to rock.

Runs hot (as designed) but never a problem, so never a need for service. I emailed the folks at Budda for alternate speaker ideas and they were friendly and helpful. I bought this used and they gave me a free one-year warranty. No need! Well-engineered and well-built.

This is a high-gain amp that hits the power tubes hard for its sound. You will run through pre-amp and power tubes if you play it regularly.

See above -- when asking them about speakers, the budda guy asked me if I wanted a more "british" sound (the stock speakers were Emminence Legends -- great speakers in Super Reverb, but I wanted to know what sort of other tone tweaks might compliment the amp). Anyway, after thinking about it I decided that sound the Budda makes is unique. It has a Marshall vibe, but it really has its own thing going on. I kept the stock speakers and decided to work on my technique instead.

I've been playing for 30 years, and have been fortunate to play through some really great gear. Don't believe the hype -- it really all is in your fingers. I still suck no matter gizmotron I play through! That being said, and for anyone who cares, if you're on a tone quest keep following your muse -- if nothing else the new sounds can be tremendously inspiring to you. Others may only detect a tiny variation in the sounds, but that little difference might mean the world to you. Fer instance, one day I know will find a wonderful AC-30 or AC-15 that I can afford. Will I sound different to others? Who knows? Will I be inspired by it? You betcha!

Oh wait -- this is supposed to be about the Twinmaster. This is a unique amp with a unique voice. If you can find a used one give it a shot and see if you like its voice and its toneful, unforgiving ways. I see they've recently made a special edition twinmaster in the $5k price range -- more power to them, but way above my amp budget.

The version with bottom on top
Only 1 treble, 1 bass, 1 volume and 2 input (high and low gain)
Stanby and effect loop and a line out. Thats it.
I bought it used in 98' resold to a friend and rebought from him after!!!
1 channel but those 2 inputs give 2 differents responses. First is smoother, second one more punchi
His 18w offering wonderfull respond in low volume for clean. Otherwise forget the clean. his crack at 10 oclock.
Nice look and very, so good to say, very light.

That amp is perfect for little sessions or shows. You place the volume for your need (with the crunch response) and if you are missing gain, just put it in monitering. I tryed it with a Tri Axis right in the input. I had to used a ground-bypast because the Twinmaster ground seem to be a little caracterial when match with other unit. But with the Tri Axis, it give a good compromise for small gig, when the audiance doesn't need to be blasted. You can also expect to used the amp for crunch and a Fender for clean (use a A/B box) I used the Buddha Fat man and the blend is very honest, non-modeling and respectefull to the guitar personality. Very good dynamic too, play smoth it will sound clean and beat the guitar the amp will wonderfully crack without touching you volume.
I use it in jazz show with an L5 and the sound was incredible.
Its maybe only 18w but in that Class A amp, it sound at least like a 40w.
Be very minutious on your tubes choice, it make a huge difference. I would say that this amp is perfect for those who need to be introduce to a in-the-face kind of sound. And plugged it into a 4x12 you will feel worry for your speakers, even if you sure thats there's no problem because 18w can't blow your speakers away, but it sound very huge.
I play country to 70's rock, Jazz and fusion pop or folk and the amp work great on them all. I play with a Fender fat strat Deluxe, a Gibson Standard 78'; a Clairmont De La Croisetiere Telecaster; a 335 es 335 65' and when I bought it I play with a PRS and i repeat that generously extend the guitar sound and not tryin tho ipmose his own sound so there's big diference of sound between guitar, oppositly to the Tri Axis, a way much colorfull.
If I would find another one i would try it stereo from the Tri Axis.

The amp never broke down to me. My friend got a trouble as he said a shortcut happend in a tube cable, witch he replace directly. This amp is a Point-to-point so everything is very see-able. Electronician friendly. Some tubes make him very microphonic, I known its the tube, but in this amp it always was worse than my Twin i.e.

First I contact them and I was very hard to understand speaking (french) and Buddha was patient and very helpfull. When my friend get the problem, he call at Buddha shop and they send to him full set of tubes sockets for FREE!! I had to deal with Boogie too, its not pro to compare I know but, it was so harder.

I love this amp. Right, its not the all situation kind of amp but when you have some Studio shouting to do amp dont find your sound through a Tri Axis, you learn appreciate Buddha. I dont imagine having only this amp, but in same time, i dont want sell him.
The only reason to let him go would be a purchase of a Diezel, but cant say if I will regrets.

My twinmaster is 18w with 12'blackshadow SP.Product year unknown.
I play blues,rock,oldies with fender strat (antiquity pu+JB jr),fender
tele 52'vint.,gibson LP studio(p90 pu),gibson es-335td(seth lover pu).
Twinmaster is not include reverb,so I put BossRV-3 send return and it works very well.
I use this amp in small live bar in Japan(cap.50 max).There is no PA for amp and drums.Twinmaster is only 18w but loudest amp among20-60w amps ex.fender delux RV,blues DX,Hotlod DX,Hotlod devil 212.
But need some more power in clean tone for giging with band style.
I don't know what bland tube they use, 'cause I'm get it third hand,but Irecomend should use NOS Tube for good sound.

The sound is very smooth,worm,with p-90,very crispy but never bite my ear with strat,tele.Setting is fully up Vol.Tr.Bs with normal input,
or 40%Vol.for higain input.Reduce Bs for p90 and 335 accordinglly.
I can controll clean to distortion just turn my guitar pot.Most amazing thing is when I turn doun guitar pot for clean,tone is still very crispy, so I can use both.My Boogie(50 cal.+) is good amp but I can't use both.
Distortion sound quality is the vest tone I ever hard. I have Boogie 50cal+,fender twin reverb(mid'70),Tweed Vibrolux('58),but always Twinmaster is along with me for gig.
I tried to improve sound quality changing power tube.When I get it,tube was Russian made,and it was worn out.I changed power tube Valvo EL84,it very hard and tight.Jan phillips has large headroom, and smooth distortion.RCA is worm.JJ,EI is best selection for it's cost performance.As well as,there is very poor sound tubes.I recomend use NOS tube to get best sound from point to point amp.

Only one problem is microphonic.High gain pre amp(1st circuit of V1)
has ploblem.I don't know what is the cause. I select pre tube which dose not make microphonic.
Amp never broke down,during 1year even I'm third owner.

I mail factory to slove microphnic. Reply was fast,but advice is not enough for me. But I understand that they can't make enough advice 'cause they can't see the actual problem,amp is in my hand.
My occupation is electric technical engineer for medical equipment.
It is very difficult to find the cause by phone.

I play guiter almost 20 years.If I lost my Twinmaster, No doubt! I'll get same amp or their Verbmaster.
I'm interest in Bruno cow tripper35, Victria20112,Badcat30Rev,and so on. But I can't compare the sound 'cause music shop in japan dose not have such a boutique amp stock.
I really love this amp, the sound, controllability by guitar pot,nothing to complain.

This amp won't be used or abused, so no telling how it would hold up to serious road use.

Budda offered to create a new Twinmaster 10 from scratch when I complained I could'nt find a used one. $1399 @ 4/6 weeks. It must be awfully expensive to build one of these things. What "normal" musician can afford these prices? Certainly not me. I do appreciate the offer though.

I wanted to post an Overall Rating since my ISP died while I was posting my previous submission.

I've been playing on and off since 1969 or so. I've killed too many brain cells to remember exactly.

I would certainly try to find another used Budda Twinmaster 10. I'm sure there are other extremely nice, small and portable combo's out there, but this is the one I'm most familiar with since I've previously owned one. I haven't found a practical use for the effects loop, yet.

This amp delivers incredibly complex tones. Like the previous reviewer stated, kind of like a baby Marshall sound. What I really like about this piece other than the tone, is the size, weight and volume in such a small 2x10 package.
I would like to share a few more thoughts.
The crappiest "made in Taiwan" pedal "almost" sounds like your favorite "boutique" pedal through this amp.
It's more than loud enough for smaller to medium size venues.
The sheer "body" and "fullness" of sound out of this piece is astounding. A brilliant design that really should still be in production.
If you are looking to down-size your rig, but still want to sound "huge", you should at least play one for comparison.

18 watt, 2x10 combo. 1 high gain channel and 1 low gain channel. Not switch-able. Bass, treble and volume. Standby switch. One extremly cool blue jewel light, I can't believe nobody mentioned this extremely sought-after feature. The Budda Twinmaster weighs about the same as a Line 6 fextone.

I am currently using a Tom Anderson Swamp Ash Classic (s/s/h). Other guitars played through this amp:
Epiphone Dot (yawn)
Les Paul Studio (not a good match)
MIJ Strat (very nice)
Gibson Trini Lopez (wow)
Other amps in the room compared with:
Marshall JTM60 head (great head, clean can't hold up to the Budda)
2x12 JCM800 Lead series cab with greenbacks
no-name 2x12 vintage 30 cab
Marshall Jubilee 2x12 combo (well, pro gear)
Line 6 Flextone II (not my cup of tea)
Budda Twinmaster 10 (how can an 18 watt 2x10 sound this good?)
I have no music style, and I only play in garage bands now, and not very much. For some reason, this particular Budda is extremely quiet. I can see it could be a little buzz-monster though, because my last one was. It's also very light. The clean channel is superb for blues and roots style playing. The high-gain channel will distort at a much lower volume, although it's not extreme gain. Not a brutal distortion amp on it's own. Cheap pedals sound great through this amp.

Looks like it wouldn't h

I believe that review ratings should be relative to all other amps, so I'm giving the Twinmaster a fairly low "features" score, but frankly getting wrapped up in the number of nifty doodads is really missing the point, especially with this sort of amp. If you're looking for a feature-laden amp, look elsewhere. If you only care about one feature -- tone -- then the Twinmaster is worth investigating.

The Twinmaster is bone simple: Hi and low gain inputs, volume, bass and treble. Unfortunately, the inputs cannot be switched using an A/B box -- that is a real shame. It has a simple serial effects loop that is extremely hard to get to since it's on the bottom edge of the chassis in the rear of the amp. It has two EL84s, two 12AXs and 1 5U4. The power and rectifier tubes on my amp do not have retainers unfortunately (I understand that newer Twinmasters have retainers on these tubes). My Twinmaster was made in 1995, when Twinmasters used a smaller chassis.

To my ears, this amp is very much like one of those Marshall Lead & Bass 20s from the early '70s -- a baby Marshall. Others have compared it to a Vox or Fender, but I don't hear that (especially the Fender comparison). That whole roaring mid-range and crunchy distortion just screams Marshall to me. The Twinmaster is fairly aggressive in a vintage sort of way (ie. like an old Marshall, not like a new Mesa). The Twinmaster has a good clean sound, but not nearly as nice as a Vox or Fender -- its forte is its overdrive sound in my opinion.

The hi-gain input adds another preamp gain stage that basically just adds more overdrive and volume. It seems to increase both preamp and power amp distortion (probably because the boost is hammering the output section pretty hard) based on the sound and the feel. I slightly prefer the tone of just diming the normal input, but that doesn't yield quite enough gain for some of musical situations so the hi-gain channel is useful when I want more drive.

The amp is very responsive to your picking attack and guitar volume settings. You can go from almost-clean to screaming just by varying your picking or rolling the volume knobs, especially if you have single coils. It doesn't do this quite as well as my Mesa Blue Angel, but it's still better than most amps.

The low-end is surprisingly big and tight for an 2x10, 18W amp with tiny transformers and a tube rectifier. It really has no right to sound this big. It's transient response is quick -- so much so that it's surprising it has a tube rectifier in my opinion. It's alot less saggy than, say, a reissue Bassman, JTM45 or my Blue Angel. The Twinmaster doesn't, however, stay as tight as a 50W or 100W Marshall even plugged into a 4x12 cab. As you turn up the wick it gets a little more spongey feeling than that. You'll notice it when you mute the E string and play some chunky rhythm stuff.

I know just enough about electronics to be dangerous. I've opened the chassis to make a minor mod to the output section. The inards of the Twinmaster are a work of art. The cabinet seems well-constructed although the tolex work could have been a little neater on the bottom. Other than the fact that it doesn't have retainers on the power and rectifier tubes, it seems extremely road-worthy. I haven't had any problems with my Twinmaster and I have no real worries that I will. And if I do, I know that the ultra clean layout of the point-to-point circuit will make it very reasonable to repair.

Jeff Bober, the main guy at Budda, led me through the mod to the output section and answered some general questions via e-mail. He was prompt, courteous and helpful. I purchased my Twinmaster used and I kind of half-way expect to be a second-class customer in that situation. Jeff's knowledge and attitude was a very pleasant surprise. This is what buying from a "boutique" manufacturer should be a about -- first rate, above-and-beyond, customer service.

I've been playing for almost 20 years, both as an amateur and a professional. I've owned or played just about every major brand of amp. I'm using the Twinmaster with a PRS Custom 22 and a small pedalboard as my "rock rig". I have a completely different rig for my jump-blues/swing band.

When I was considering the Budda, I had just sold a 50W Marshall because it was just "too much" -- too loud, too big and too heavy. I wanted a small, low-power amp that could do a credible Marshall sound but at club volumes. I evaluated the Budda, a Marshall Lead & Bass 20, a Dr. Z Carmen Ghia and a Cage Audio 18/00. All of those amps were fantastic and definately qualified (and they all sounded better than my old Marshall!). Truthfully, I can't say that Budda was any better or worse than those amps -- in my opinion they were variations on a theme. I finally settled on the Budda because I managed to find a really good deal on a used one. I've never regretted the decision.

Hardly any features-that's why I like it. It has a volume knob, bass knob, and treble knob. Since I like it simple, I'm giving the features rating a 10 since I can use pedals to alter and color the sound. Perhaps the only thing I wish this amp had was a master volume.

Amazing sound. With the volume cranked, the distortion rocks. I'm tired of the mesa-boogie massive overdrive sound. The Budda has great low end and a very smooth distortion as you crank up the volume.

Apparently, Budda makes a very reliable product. I just bought the amp so I can't talk much about its reliability.

I e-mailed them twice and got very quick responses from them. I was impressed with their customer support.

I've owned a lot of amp combos-Fender Champ, Vox AC-30, Vox AC-15, Fender Deluxe Reverb, Peavey Classic 50, Rivera R-55, Line 6 Flextone, Vox Pathfinder, Marshall JCM 2000 and now the Budda. I was looking at the Mesa Nomad series, but I'm just sick of tired of the Mesa heavy overdrive sound. I'm glad I bought the Budda because I love the natural distortion it produces at loud volume. The only problem I have had is that it needs to be loud to get that distortion. I had to buy a hotplate for it-it seems to have worked although it's still loud. This amp by far is the best sounding amp I've ever owned.

This amp has few features, but, as others have pointed out, it is part of the beauty of the amp. All tube, hand-wired, point-to-point circuitry: 2x12AX7?s in the preamp, 2xEL84?s in the power amp (cathode biased, class AB), and one 5U4 rectifier tube, which is just about the size of a small coke bottle. The amp?s 18W?s drive 2X10? Mojotone speakers, which seem to be voiced for smooth easy break-up, rather than tremendous bottom or ?bell-like? tones. The controls are volume, treble and bass, and that?s it. It has two inputs - ?Normal? and ?High Gain.? The ?High Gain? input uses an additional 12AX7. There?s a standby switch, and the fuse is conveniently located on the front panel. The back of the chassis is thoughtfully labeled, with a ?Slave out,? and switchable impedance (4 or 8 ohms) that allows one to experiment with different speaker configurations. The switchable impedance is an excellent feature, and should be standard on all amps, IMO. The tubes come out of the chassis horizontally, with a screen vent right above them to help keep the amp cool. The amp has no reverb, which is part of its design - to keep the circuitry as simple as possible. Once you start digging into the sounds of this amp, though, the absence of reverb won?t be missed.

The tone of this amp is straightforward, clear, and wonderfully warm. If you get a bad sound out of it, it?s your own fault. The 2 EL84?s and 18W power rating allow the amp to be overdriven at moderate levels. I was looking for an amp I could plug straight into without any OD pedals - an amp that could do clean or overdrive by adjusting the volume. This is it! I like just a little distortion, and have come to favor power tube distortion over preamp distortion (whether it comes from the amp?s preamp or from an effect). At about 12:00, plugging into the normal input, the amps starts to snarl in the most beautiful and responsive way. Keep turning the volume up, and it just gives you more. By the time you get to 3:00 or 4:00 on either channel, it?s screaming. The amp is voiced so that it will clean up without getting mushy as you back off the guitar volume. The Twinmaster does this exceedingly well.

The tube rectifier adds a roundness to the sound, but doesn?t have the punch or low-end tightness of a solid state rectifier. Yet, for all that, the low end on this amp is very good, and better than that on a ?Custom? Vibrolux Reverb that I purchased last year. The low end on the CVR tends to be boomy, whereas there is not a hint of ?boominess? in the Twinmaster. While the clarity and definition of the bottom is good, it could probably be improved with speakers with larger magnets and/or more rigid cones - but then you?d be trading away some of that gorgeous smooth break-up. As soon as I get a speaker wire extension, I?m going to try running the Budda through the two Webers in my CVR. These will add a little more low end and ?sparkle? to the amp. It?ll be awesome to have that kind of versatility on tap.

The treble and bass controls are somewhat subtle, yet allow one all the variety needed to adequately shape the sound. Again, the amp?s basic tone is it?s major selling point. The treble and bass are there simply to put on the finishing touches.

The ?High Gain? and ?Normal? inputs are quite distinct form one another. The ?High Gain? input is a good deal louder, and more ?raw? than the ?Normal? input. It breaks up more easily, and is punchier and more dynamic than the ?Normal? input. The ?Normal? input, by contrast, is mellower and more round. Between the overdrive smoothly kicking in as you increase volume, and the two very differently voiced inputs, this amp gets a broad spectrum of sounds. It?s going to take a little while and more experimenting to really uncover the different shades of feeling that this amp can help bring out.

The amp has a certain amount of native hiss that, I assume, is there because of the absence of a negative feedback loop. The hiss might bother some people, but it is not at all ?buzzy? sounding - just a soft ?Sssssssss? that doesn?t crackle or pop or do other obnoxious things. I actually even think the hiss is slightly pleasing in a way - the sound of electricity and fire at one?s fingertips.

I AB?d the Twinmaster against my CVR (which has had a speaker upgrade). The CVR is 40W powered by 2x6L6?s, and, hence, gets a ?bigger? sound. At twice the power, it will naturally cut through situations that the Twinmaster won?t. This won?t, of course, make a difference in situations where the amp is miked. Likewise, because of the switchable impedance, one can try running it through a couple of 12?s, which would probably be plenty loud.

My only disappointment in bringing the amp home was the sound quality of the pickup on my Gibson. This, of course, was not the amp?s fault. The Guild archtop at the local store had a warm and lively humbucker, which really brought the amp to life. The alnico 490R on my Gibson - a low output humbucker - seemed a little cold in comparison. I think the Budda helped to bring this ?coldness? a little more to the fore. I?ve been planning on a replacement humbucker for a while now, and may get one of the Tom Holms PAF?s, or one of the Fralins.

Point-to-point wired amps tend to be more reliable than PCB ones, and are easier to service as well. Add to this a rather simple (read ?elegant?) circuit layout, and Budda?s excellent history of service. I have no worries. Some people have complained about the rectifier tube being too exposed. It?s true that it is somewhat vulnerable, but all one needs to do is be mindful of it when moving the amp, or taking out the AC cord from the back of the amp.

Warranteed for a year. Have only heard good things about Budda's service, and my own experience with them has been positive as well.

I was holding out on giving this rating, but had to offer it up somewhere. I actually had no intention of buying this amp when I was first checking it out. I went to a local music store to try it ?cause I wanted to see if I could tell what difference the tube rectifier made (as opposed to the solid state one in my CVR). While I was sitting there playing, the store manager walked by, and ?casually? mentioned that if I wanted the amp, I could have it for $675.00. The Twinmaster?s retail price tag is entirely justified. A hand-crafted amplifier, loaded with high quality components, doesn?t come cheaply. But the $675.00 blow out price was too much. Even though I had no money at the time to spend on an amp (or ?another!? amp, as my wife would say), I soon pulled together the necessary funds to score this little beauty, and, frankly, had trouble sleeping in the interim.

I play rock and blues harmonica. I have played many amps over the years. The budda tone, articulation, and dynamic range rule. It is basic; channels cannot be switched because they are cascaded. BUT the hi-gain channel is creamy, super musical distortion. Sound leaps out of this amp. Guitarists who have played it are pretty amazed at the degree to which pick attack shapes and punches the sound. I A-B'd the budda against several other amps: the budda won hands-down. The key feature of this amp is its tone, punch, and that incredible distortion. The FX loop isn't buffered. It seems as though some dynamic range and tone is compromised via the loop. No phase switch: make your own by filing down the fat prong of a ground adapter; if you get hum, reverse the adapter's configuration.

I play harp through an AKG D2000 mic. Running it through a fishman parametric DI allows me to attenuate the signal so that I can run the budda's hi-gain channel hot for creamy crunch.
There's a little idling noise, a small price to pay for the overall sound. Some players will stick up their noses at the 18 watt rating. Let them! This amp is loud and can handle middle and some large venues. As stated, the hi-gain channel is terrific.

This is a hand made amp. Beautiful workmanship; top quality components. Be careful when retrieving the AC cable (Attached); it can lasso the recti tube. Well made chassis and cabinet (and it's not a ball buster).

budda is a good company; the amp designer lives in Maryland. Both entities answer calls and are helpful.

I've been playing for 30 years. I would get a new one if needed: a terrific amp!

lean feature set. interactive tone ciontrols (bass & treb). FX loop is not buffered. I don't think that the clean and hi-gain inputs can be run through an A/B box for channel switching because they are cascaded.

I play harmonica either directly via a mic (AKG D2000) or mic and Huges & Kettner Tubeman. This is the best sounding amp I have ever played (compared to many fenders, vox, marshall, others). The dynamic range is unmatched, and the tone is superb. The hi-gain channel is creamy smooth distortion, very musical. some people will discount this amp because it is 18 watts: let them --this amp kicks ass even in fairly large clubs. It sings when it's cranked up. Gutarists who have played through the twinmaster all praise its articulation which reflects pick attack. This is a very expressive amplifier.

terrific workmanship and design. this is a hand-built beauty. I had it checked over by a very reputable amp technician: he was most impressed. be careful when extracting the AC cable; it can whomp the tube rectifier. It doesn't have a polarity switch: make your own by filing down the fat prong of a ground adapter and switching the plug-in configuration.

budda is a good, responsive company. they are quick and courteous.

I've been playing harp for 30 years. this amp is superb. seek it out and play it: you'll see what I mean.

Light, cheap to re-tube, versatile, small, religious experience tone, simple controls (volume, bass, treble), you are totally in charge of the abilities of this amp, superior craftsmanship, looks killer, plenty loud to gig with.

On the down side: No reverb, FX loop is a tough match (you impact your uneffected sound-more on this), non-detachable mains cord (hardwired cord), tubes are vulnerable to being damaged by line cord, all service jacks (FX/line out/speaker etc) are under the chassis on the back and really hard to get at, no channel switching, even @18 watts its almost too loud for some rooms if you open it up like you need to.

I've played for 35 years and this is the first amp to give me the ability to get the sound I've searched for. The key feature of this amp is the ability to produce the sound you want entirely by the character and intensity of your attack in conjunction with the setting on your volume pot on your guitar (for the channel you are in, as this amp does not channel switch) In the clean channel you can go from articulate clean comping and clean solo work to inspiring crunch based upon where the amp volume is set, how you work your volume pot on the guitar and how you attack the strings. In the high gain channel you will have crunch available even at the lowest amp volume setting if you attack hard and have the volume up on your guitar. You will have violin-like woody singing tone at high amp volume settings. It's easy to get three octave harmonics at will!!! My only niggle with the amp is that I want the clarity and articulation of the clean channel and the singing voice of the lead channel available at the same amp volume setting. It's not like a volume pot setting of 1-2 on your guitar while in the hot channel equals 9-10 in the clean channel. These two channels can almost be made to be seemeless by playing through the hot channel and using low volume pot settings on the guitar with a light touch but there is a whole universe of capability you loose by not being able have a low volume pot setting on your guitar with a light touch in the clean channel. I hope you know what I am driving at? I plan to install a relay to allow me to channel switch which will greatly expand the versatility of the amp. Right now there is a compromise. You plug into either one channel or the other. This is not a negative commentary on the tone. At any and all settings this amp delivers a complex, rich tone that will give you goosebumps. It's just that as it's set up now there are distinct differences in tone, grit and complexity between the channels at the same volume setting. I play a Tele (my main guitar), a Strat and Hamer studio through it. I play anything from country covers to Aerosmith to Bloomfield style blues with this amp and it is stunning. I've tried to use the FX loop but it is not possible to dial in a suitable level on the FX unit due to the gain swings you get from volume pot manipulation on the guitar. There are no level controls for the FX loop but I don't think it would help due to the dynamics of the signal that can be produced. And when I had an effects processor patched in it just seemed to put a blanket over the voice of the amp. A pedal board before the amp input with delay, reverb (Zoom etc) and chorus etc will cover what you need. This thing has so much punch that I had to end up using a THD hotplate to allow the power amp section reach it's full potential(the secret of it's great tone) and still be able to play some of the smaller rooms. In a loud electric band in big rooms you could just turn it loose.

It's a tube amp and runs hot but it has never even hiccupped on a gig or in practice (I've used it non stop (3x week) for 3 years). It is extremely well made and it is a simple elegant design with not a whole lot to go wrong. As I stated earlier you could retube this whole amp for under $30

The designer is in Maryland and the sales office is in California. Both have been helpfull and responded quickly to phone calls or emails.

I bought this in a small boutique shop in Manayunk PA (outside Philadelphia). The owner had Rivera's, THD, and other high dollar amps. But he said you gotta hear this. When he demo'd if for me the hair on the back of neck stood up and I literally got goosebumps. This amp has such a glorious tone, character, complexity what ever you want to call it that it will make you a better player because you are the main ingredient on the sound that comes out. There is not a bad sound in this amp. My only advise would be to keep in mind the inability to switch between channels (these channels are quite different and cover different styles and needs) and the essential non use of the fx loop.

This amp is a real basic box - - volume, bass and treble only! Two channels; the first sounds inspired by a tweed fender, and the high gain channel sounds alot like Cream era Clapton.
Rated at 18 watts, the amp feeds two 10" Mojotone speakers. 2 12AX7's, 2 EL-84's, and 1 5U4 rectifier. Has a non-adjustable effects loop.

For a point of reference, I play in a Chicago type blues band with two guitars, harp, bass and drums, and we don't play super loud. My usual rig is a PRS Custom through an old BF Princeton Reverb. I like to crank the Princeton, and control distortion via the volume knob on the PRS. This has worked pretty good; the Princeton is loud enough to keep up with the drummer without getting us thrown out of the bars that we usually play in. My trusty old Princeton is getting kind of tired, so when my friend decided that he needed a new amp, I thought it was a good time to knick the Budda from him.
I should say that the reason he wanted to get rid of the Budda was that I turned him on to an old tweed Vibrolux that just kills, and he wanted to get that sound but 50% louder. He will probably never find an amp that sounds any better, and will have to look long and hard to find one as good. So far he has purchased (and rejected, in order of preference) the Budda, a 2x10 Mesa Blue Angel, a RI Vibroverb, and a Blues DeVille.
I've used the Budda at one gig and a several practices, and really enjoyed it. It has taken me a while to get used to it, and I think that I've finally found the sweet spot. It gives up a sweet, fluid tone in the high gain channel, and the normal channel sounds great for cranked SRV sounds. It's a rocker, but it doesn't have that real ragged "just about to blow up" sound that my partner likes about the Vibrolux. I think that this is mostly a function of age; I suspect that the Budda has the right stuff to sound like the Vibrolux, but it needs a few years of playing to wear in the speakers & tubes and stuff.
The great beauty of this (and other small tube amps) is that you gan get great tone without getting thrown out of your gig or being told to turn down to where you loose all the tube tone.

I broke the alignment key on the rectifier tube by pulling out the power cord the other day, and was real dissapointed by that. There is about an inch clearance between the bottom of the Russian 5U4 and the lower back panel, and this is an accident waiting to happen. Additionally, the power tubes are exposed, and are very vulnerable to the same type of accident. As I said, my point of reference are old Fenders, and the Budda has a way to go in terms of being that bulletproof. My only other complaint is that the power cord is about 6', and I think that this is too short.
I replaced the rectifier tube with a NOS RCA JAN 5U4GB, and this tube is about 1 1/2" shorter than the Russian rectifier, so I don't think the tube clearance will be a problem in the future.

My major disapointment so far is that the folks at Budda don't really seem to take user input. I've communicated with them via e-mails regarding this, and their attitude seems to be that I should be more careful. I really believe that the reason old Fender stuff is so bulletproof is that Leo considered problems like these to be an opportunity to learn a little more about how to make a better product. The Budda guys don't seem to have this insight; when I suggested a longer cord would be good, they replied that I should just get an extension cord. Duh!
While they have been responsive, they haven't really responded the way I'd like them too. I think that they have a great product, I'd just like to see them take it to the next level!

All in all, if you like the Budda tone and are willing to be a little careful, you'll be happy with the amp. Tube niggles aside, the guts of this amp are built really well. I'm going to start to gig with it on a regular basis, and I can't wait to hear it get better and better!